Come for Ian McShane; stay for a faithful, 16-years-later retelling of Gaiman's classic.

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AUSTIN, Texas—TV pilots ain't what they used to be, as the Netflix model takes much of the weight off a first episode's shoulders. Series can take their time revealing characters, unfolding plots, or even having much of the plot take place in a single episode.

Weirdly, the first hour-long episode of Starz' new American Gods series feels like a relic of that older era—in all of the best ways. This is TV built to stun, with equal parts momentum and cautious pauses, and it won't embarrass fans of its source material. The Neil Gaiman novel of the same name has no shortage of mystery, intrigue, and surprise in its first few dozen pages. Starz' take on the book manages to follow its every major plot thread to a satisfying degree, all while setting into motion a solid framework for how we should expect the modern-fantasy epic to unravel.

Vikings soaked in corn-syrup blood

Throwback to a story about Vikings erupts in syrupy fake blood.

Ricky Whittle finds the right balance between smoulder and believability in his portrayal of Shadow Moon.

Starz

Ian McShane just plain owns the Mr. Wednesday role.

Pretty tall for a leprechaun, Mr. Mad Sweeney.

Low Key dispensing prison-yard wisdom.

Just another crazy dream sequence for Shadow Moon.

Starz

Like the 2001 novel, Starz' version (which debuted at South By Southwest ahead of its TV premiere next Sunday, April 30) begins with main character Shadow Moon (played by Ricky Whittle, from TV's The 100) on the verge of getting out of prison. We don't know much—aggravated assault, in the can for about three years—but we do know his loving wife, Laura, has been waiting for him on the outside this whole time.

He finds out a few days before his time is up that he's getting a surprise early release—though it's not good news. Laura's dead. Car crash. Collect your things, Shadow.

But wait! Before that sequence, which is much like the start of the book, we are treated to a savage incident from hundreds of years earlier. A band of Vikings in search of new land come ashore on what will become the United States and discover great strife. One of their ranks is killed almost immediately by a comical number of arrows, and the rest suffer from plague and bug bites. Their only hope is to humble themselves before their god, a narrator explains, who happens to be a god of war. Only when they sacrifice enough of their own blood—and in Starz's case, that's gallons of sticky, corn-syrup prop blood—do they receive a firm wind on which to sail home.

This sequence is a far more clever way to flesh out the book—and its stories about the types of gods we worship—for a televised adaptation, as opposed to wildly refreshing or changing elements of the plot. One of the book's "Somewhere in America" sequences with another character (the mysterious, sexual Bilquis) comes back with a slight modernized tweak, as well. The TV translation does a good job reframing that moment in the book 15 years later.

Further Reading

The pilot episode essentially recaps the book's first two chapters, and the spotlight hangs heavily over Moon. In order to preserve his quiet, studied demeanor, Starz surrounds him with a few more conversations, as opposed to filling the episode's open air with narration or explanation. This works in the TV version's favor. Moon's cellmate, Low Key, gets the job of recapping a moment that Moon originally narrated to himself in the novel—and this creates a pretty good moment of prison-wisdom comic relief in the process—while another mourning character, Audrey Burton, tiptoes into melodrama but ultimately shares a compellingly emotional scene with Moon over their losses.

Ugh, of course the "modern" technology god vapes.

Don't mess with Shadow Moon's (left) coin tricks.

Starz

Things only get worse after this phone call for Shadow Moon.

Bad day at the graveyard for these two widows.

Bilquis just devoured... something.

Starz

Mr. Wednesday, lookin' more like a Tuesday to me.

You may not be surprised to hear that Ian McShane, starring as the major figurehead character Mr. Wednesday, is up to snuff, but it really is something to see the storied actor banter back and forth with Whittle, each playing off the other actor's strengths. Even if you go into the show knowing how their relationship begins, the tension they build on screen, especially as Wednesday keeps on pushing Moon to the edge in terms of "how do you know all this stuff about my life?", makes for fine TV.

This is helped, to some extent, by Wednesday and Moon meeting each other in slightly less tense terms than in the novel. Surprisingly, this makes Moon's eventual animosity all the more impactful. These slight plot tweaks also give McShane room to riff off both modern living and off Moon himself. ("Were your parents hippies?" he asks after laughing at Moon's full name.)

Leprechauns, VR, and skeleton-graveyard dreams, oh my

Enlarge/ The showrunners and cast of American Gods gather after the show's pilot episode world premiere at South By Southwest in Austin, Texas.

Sam Machkovech

The most annoying addition Starz makes to the first two chapters is a full-throttle fistfight between Moon and one of Wednesday's allies, the self-described leprechaun named Mad Sweeney. What had been a more cautious and wary literary exchange of coin tricks between the duo turns into a two-minute bar fight, and Gaiman purists may very well turn their nose up at this change. For the sake of a TV show, however, I argue this tweak does a solid job selling Moon's ass-kicking past instead of relying on narration about a tougher past life.

For the most part, American Gods' 16-years-later edits are fitting. Just like in the novel, the Technical Boy character is introduced here as a confusing, high-tech adversary, but his circa-2001 obsession with Matrix-style technology has evolved appropriately. (Hint: There's some VR involved now, though it's done in a clever way.) iPhones have edged out pay phones, though newspaper clippings also still make an appearance.

But Gaiman's reliance on dream sequences and dialogue-less passages is, for the most part, carried over in this pilot episode. Long scenes play out with Moon simply looking upon strange sights or even just open expanses of country in awe, which gives the filming and editing crew a chance to really flex their muscles. The showrunners should be commended for using this sort of "white space" separation between scenes to ground Moon's confusion and grief. Whittle firmly sticks the landing between hulking badass and likable, "what, I'm the hero?" Everyman, and as soon as his posturing might grow tiresome, McShane pops up and saves the day with enjoyably dark comedy.

Starz showrunners were on hand after the pilot episode's SXSW screening to confirm that, yes, "the book tends to get into a sausage party with Wednesday and Shadow." They're pledging to put more focus on female characters in the book, including Bilquis and Laura Moon. Yetide Badaki's brief turn as Bilquis in the pilot seems very promising for the kind of darkness she'll bring to the series, but I really want to see Laura get a better shot at coming off as a well-rounded character than this first episode permits (which the book affords her character, to some extent). I look forward to much more of the entire cast actually, thanks to categorically top-tier performances throughout the entire pilot. (I say this knowing full well that comedian Dane freakin' Cook appears in later episodes.)

Between the solid acting and the incredible cinematography, complete with gorgeously framed interiors and sweeping open-road shots of Moon crossing the United States, this episode puts Starz in an unfamiliar position. The company has an upcoming series that's genuinely saddled with incredibly high expectations. The pilot will debut on television on April 30, prepare accordingly.

While Gaiman glosses over the details of "the full-throttle fistfight" between Mad Sweeney and Shadow, the book does go to the trouble of pointing out that the fight was serious enough to warrant patrons moving tables out of the way, and violent enough that both men come away bloodied. Gaiman writes of the difference between "don't f with me" fights - loud and showy - and real fights, over in seconds. A "two minute bar fight" that serves as a test of Shadow's martial abilities seems not an annoying addition, but as a faithful visual spectacle that properly convey's Gaiman's prose.

The only Neil Gaiman book I've read is Neverwhere, which I thought was really terrible. Is that one an outlier, or if I don't like Neverwhere is it likely none of his books are my cup of tea?

I'm reading it right now as my first Gaiman book. My wife loved it so now I have to read it before the series premier...I'm about half way through. It's pretty solid. It reminds me a of Neil Stephenson writing a lot with the kind of goofy lighthearted parts punctuated by deep, almost ominously detailed and serious parts. I didn't find it inaccessible at all and it's been a fairly quick read so far given my limited time to actually sit and put page to face.

I really wish I was faster at reading. This book has been on my "to-read" list for years but I finally decided to start when I heard there was a show coming. I want to watch but I also don't want to spoil the book for myself. /melodrama

The only Neil Gaiman book I've read is Neverwhere, which I thought was really terrible. Is that one an outlier, or if I don't like Neverwhere is it likely none of his books are my cup of tea?

Do you enjoy prose?

Yeah, I read quite a lot. I thought Neverwhere was somehow both dull and ridiculous. Maybe I'll give American Gods a try, based on the recommendations in this thread. I want to like Gaiman based on all the descriptions of his stories. They sound like stories I would like, but Neverwhere really put me off.

The only Neil Gaiman book I've read is Neverwhere, which I thought was really terrible. Is that one an outlier, or if I don't like Neverwhere is it likely none of his books are my cup of tea?

Do you enjoy prose?

Yeah, I read quite a lot. I thought Neverwhere was somehow both dull and ridiculous. Maybe I'll give American Gods a try, based on the recommendations in this thread. I want to like Gaiman based on all the descriptions of his stories. They sound like stories I would like, but Neverwhere really put me off.

I'm in the minority here, but I hated a good chunk of American Gods and loved Neverwhere - for a lot of people, it's the other way around (which is okay, different strokes for different folks).

From what I'm seeing though, my biggest critique of American Gods (spending too much time describing Americana minutiae...to the point I kept asking "why does this matter to the plot, at all?") won't be a problem anymore with the transition to TV.

My hopes for the show:

1) They transition Mr. Wednesday to more than just a swindler - I won't spoil things for anyone but the individual he's based on has a bit more going on than just that, and it always irked me.

2) I hope some of the gods get to do more interesting things. The basic premise of the book always did (and still does) sound really great, the cast of gods were interesting, and they just...never got to do anything interesting. Overall I loved the premise, as well as the ending. But most of what was in between felt like a missed opportunity to me =\

The only Neil Gaiman book I've read is Neverwhere, which I thought was really terrible. Is that one an outlier, or if I don't like Neverwhere is it likely none of his books are my cup of tea?

Do you enjoy prose?

Yeah, I read quite a lot. I thought Neverwhere was somehow both dull and ridiculous. Maybe I'll give American Gods a try, based on the recommendations in this thread. I want to like Gaiman based on all the descriptions of his stories. They sound like stories I would like, but Neverwhere really put me off.

I'm in the minority here, but I hated a good chunk of American Gods and loved Neverwhere - for a lot of people, it's the other way around (which is okay, different strokes for different folks).

From what I'm seeing though, my biggest critique of American Gods (spending too much time describing Americana minutiae...to the point I kept asking "why does this matter to the plot, at all?") won't be a problem anymore with the transition to TV.

My hopes for the show:

1) They transition Mr. Wednesday to more than just a swindler - I won't spoil things for anyone but the individual he's based on has a bit more going on than just that, and it always irked me.

2) I hope some of the gods get to do more interesting things. The basic premise of the book always did (and still does) sound really great, the cast of gods were interesting, and they just...never got to do anything interesting. Overall I loved the premise, as well as the ending. But most of what was in between felt like a missed opportunity to me =\

I was in the same boat when I first read American Gods. I think I restarted the book 2 or 3 times before I finally made it through. All in all, after finishing the first book and reading Anansi Boys, I did change my mind.

For those who haven't read much, I might suggest some of his short stories to test the waters. He writes quite a few of them, and some might argue they're his best work. Gaiman is a storyteller in the truest sense, above all. Unfortunately not all writers of fiction qualify for that title.

No matter where they take Mr. Wednesday's character, as long as they allow McShane the room to work his character, he will own the screen.

The only Neil Gaiman book I've read is Neverwhere, which I thought was really terrible. Is that one an outlier, or if I don't like Neverwhere is it likely none of his books are my cup of tea?

Do you enjoy prose?

Yeah, I read quite a lot. I thought Neverwhere was somehow both dull and ridiculous. Maybe I'll give American Gods a try, based on the recommendations in this thread. I want to like Gaiman based on all the descriptions of his stories. They sound like stories I would like, but Neverwhere really put me off.

I'm in the minority here, but I hated a good chunk of American Gods and loved Neverwhere - for a lot of people, it's the other way around (which is okay, different strokes for different folks).

From what I'm seeing though, my biggest critique of American Gods (spending too much time describing Americana minutiae...to the point I kept asking "why does this matter to the plot, at all?") won't be a problem anymore with the transition to TV.

My hopes for the show:

1) They transition Mr. Wednesday to more than just a swindler - I won't spoil things for anyone but the individual he's based on has a bit more going on than just that, and it always irked me.

2) I hope some of the gods get to do more interesting things. The basic premise of the book always did (and still does) sound really great, the cast of gods were interesting, and they just...never got to do anything interesting. Overall I loved the premise, as well as the ending. But most of what was in between felt like a missed opportunity to me =\

I've only listened to the audiobook of American Gods, but wasn't concern #1 addressed in the epilogue? Mr. Wednesday was a swindler because he was a pale imitation. When Shadow meets the real Mr. Wednesday, he is truer to the archetype.

I love that almost every still looks exactly right. It's like they transcribed my imagination. The only deviation is that when reading I pictured Shadow a bit burlier (and like mangecouer, I always pictured him bald), but that is a minor quibble. I am really excited for this.

The only Neil Gaiman book I've read is Neverwhere, which I thought was really terrible. Is that one an outlier, or if I don't like Neverwhere is it likely none of his books are my cup of tea?

Neverwhere and American Gods may have well been written by different people.

While I enjoyed Neverwhere....

Well, let's just say American Gods is a classic in the sense that future generations of high schoolers should be forced to read it alongside Fahrenheit 451 and The Stars My Destination as examples of superior fantasy, science and speculative fiction.

I can't tell you how glad I am to see so many positive early reviews of this show. It looks like Starz really made a good move.

I'd like to see The Sandman more, of course, but something tells me that series wouldn't translate well to TV without a lot of changes.

If I had the money, I'd produce Good Omens.

One of the great things about lovers of literature - everyone has their "if I had money, I'd make this movie". (no sarcasm intended)

For me, it was American Gods. The next one was a more current Fahrenheit 451, which is being done over on HBO. And for my third choice - Hyperion - well, I hear SyFy and Bradley Cooper are on that one as well.

I'm super pumped for the show, but this description of the Vikings' first arrival sounds completely counter to the way it occurs in the novel.

In the book the Vikings show up in a new land, start building themselves a community, and fairly soon meet a native. Everyone's getting along swimmingly, laughing, singing, etc. And then the vikings get the native smashed on hard liquor. They all laugh at how he mumbles, and sways, and passes out.

At which point they promptly string him up from a nearby tree and disembowel him as a tribute to Odin.

It's only after the completely unprompted murder and subsequent human sacrifice that the other natives show up and slaughter every last one of the Vikings. But the blood sacrifice has been made and Odin now lives in America, immediately forgotten for a few centuries until more Vikings come.

The way it's described here completely changes the story from one where the white men are aggressors against the land and the natives into one where they, through their own self sacrifice summon their gods in self defense. That completely changes the underlying subtext for the whole story. That change is really racially tone deaf, and it fundamentally breaks the story. I'm kind of shocked that Gaiman would go along with such a change.

Wow. An entire review and 38 comments without a single mention that the showrunner for this is Bryan Fuller...the man behind the incredible short-runned Hannibal series that NBC stupidly let go after 3 seasons?

Not ONE mention!?

I have extremely high confidence in this show delivering with Fuller at the helm and McShane leading. His work with Mads Mikkelson on Hannibal was nothing short of amazing.

Being on Starz now, Fuller should have quite a bit more freedom to produce more "beautiful violence". I was always shocked at what he got away with on NBC, his Hannibal really seemed to belong on HBO or AMC given the content.

I'll keep an eye on this and jump in once a few episodes have built up.